new autumn 🍂 { mini life-update }

On beginnings 💛

I have always loved the beginning of things, the promise of excitement and anecdotes, and of undying vigor for the next few months, eventually giving way to a dulled hope for the rest of the year. Even as I pessimistically say this, I have high expectations from the place I’m headed to next.

I only allowed myself to start dreaming of National Law University, jodhpur a summer ago. I can’t point to what exactly enticed me into it, though. Was it because of the rich and vibrant culture of the blue city, the beautiful campus & the educational quality of NLUJ or was it the guilty comfort in knowing that I would be able to preserve some of my much-loved solidarity due to the allotment of single rooms? I don’t know. But my heart was there and I knew I’d give all of myself to make it real.

Fast forward to the 9th of October and I’m in. A step farther from the warm arms of my family and one closer to the endless dreaming of possibilities.

• 

• 

• 

On books 💛

I’m currently exploring the abstract world of Murakami through his most famous work; Norwegian wood. While I can trace my reminiscent fingers through the pages of a Murakami book and feel awed by the gorgeous prose and use of elements like nostalgia to tell a story, I know it won’t live up to something like after dark. It is suddenly dawning on me that I might not be able to find the same kind of appreciation for another one of his books.

I also finished reading The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware, a book that reminds one of the popular 1938 Gothic novel; Rebecca, but the comparison goes only as far as the atmosphere and the intrigue. Where Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier was well rounded and intelligent in execution, The Death of Mrs. Westaway felt clumsy and failed to be memorable.

Girl, woman, other by Bernadine Evaristo; the 2019 booker award winner was the only book that came close to a four-star read for me in the past two months. After initially giving the book 4 stars I decreased the rating to a 3. Although the book was a celebration of black womanhood in Britain spanning 12 women across generations and turned out to be extremely politically correct and woke in terms of representation, I was surprised at how some of the really important issues like sexual assault were not given more time and depth. It felt as if Evaristo wanted to include every possible negative experience to cross off a list without analyzing it. As a consequence, a lot of things seemed surface level. Nevertheless, the book deserves praise for its innovative brilliance and very strong and moving segments of these women’s lives.

• 

• 

• 

On living in pages 💛

It goes without saying that I haven’t been active here for obvious reasons; my entrance exams, the anticipation of results, and now law school. I wouldn’t make a promise to myself of publishing a blog post every week because that will not be very honest. However, I do promise to come up with some sort of a schedule.

---

“And as the years have passed, the time has grown longer. The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too needed ten, then thirty, then a full minute – like shadows lengthening at dusk. Someday, I suppose, the shadows will be swallowed up in darkness.”

― Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood

I’m thinking of writing a blog post recommending some classics for the fall/ winter season. Let me know if you’d want to read that. I hope everyone is doing well. Please don’t shy away from sharing your latest blog post in the comment section, I’m sure I’ve missed out on some amazing stuff. Have a lovely lovely day ✨ -mucho amor, Anushka.